Monaco Grand Prix seduces with the art of street tease

Metro’s Adam Hay-Smith looks back at a tantalising journey through the streets of Monaco as the most open F1 season in years has yet another race winner.

It could only be Monaco: Mark Webber made it six winners in six races against the spectacular backdrop of the streets of Monte Carlo (Picture: Getty)

If you turned on the TV an hour into the Monaco Grand Prix you would be forgiven for thinking the race had just started.For the final quarter, the leading cars were nose to tail but Monaco being Monaco there wasn’t much they could do about it.Some described the race as a procession. I found it riveting, though. The anticipation of an overtaking move is often even more exciting than the overtaking itself.It’s out-and-out titillation – not so much strip tease as street tease.At yesterday’s Indy 500, 4,500 miles from Monte Carlo and double-parked for the biggest weekend in motor racing, there were a record 35 changes of the lead. But when it’s that easy to pass, who cares?It only counts on the last lap – so well done Takuma Sato for spicing that one up in Indy. You’ve got to have a go. No one remembers who came second.Incidentally, I was at Indianapolis but I was also in Monaco for the build-up.I didn’t go to bed on Thursday in the Principality, instead I employed a long-term strategy aboard Vijay Mallya’s yacht party and, when the sun came up, stepped off the gangplank and headed straight to the airport.

You could not have two more different races on the same weekend.European and US oval racing are like tennis and squash – the racquets look similar, but the court is totally different.I’m still not sure I ‘get’ oval racing. Whereas the skill shown by drivers through Monaco leaves me gobsmacked.What’s more, this was the closest top-four finish to a Monaco GP ever. Just 1.343 seconds separated winner Mark Webber from P4 man Sebastian Vettel.The weekend was full of drama. Michael Schumacher, black-marked for his coming together with Bruno Senna in Barcelona, finally re-discovered his form in qualifying and nailed a phenomenal pole position, which the five-place penalty meant he then had to hand to Webber.What might have been had he behaved himself in Spain and started P1 on Sunday?His first win since China 2006 would have been huge news. Instead, his weekend turned sour with a limp DNF.

Pastor Maldonado (right) collided with Pedro de la Rosa (left) at the first corner (Picture: Getty)

Another driver who went from hero to zero was Pastor Maldonado, something I predicted might happen. The Venezuelan proved his searing raw pace with that wonderful, fully deserved win in Catalunya but showed in Monaco he is far from the complete package.He sees red too often and the clout the Williams man gave Sergio Perez in practice was very ugly.Fernando Alonso is who Pastor should try to emulate. They both have animal speed, but while Alonso’s blood often boils when faced with frustration, his brain keeps cool and he delivers optimum performance.The Spaniard now leads the world championship, not because he has the best car but because he is the most consistent driver, and gets the maximum from his tools.